Eclipse, the Daredevil Pony

by EpicMuttonChops

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Wonderbolts, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash
Length: 5659

the journalistic tales of the daredevil pony named Eclipse

Cloudsdale has always been the main source of famed pegasi. While many of these are part of the Wonderbolts, not many are famous for NOT being one. Eclipse is one such pegasus, whose main inspiration is Rainbow Dash. These are his stories.

Published 2015-10-21 21:20:03 UTC
Last updated 2015-12-09 03:52:40 UTC

Prologue: How it all started

'Spose I should introduce myself before anything else, huh? Okay, my name's Eclipse, and I'm known throughout Equestria as a great daredevil flier.

It all started in Cloudsdale. As we all know, most pegasi in Ponyville come from Cloudsdale, and our crowning glories are the Wonderbolts and Rainbow Dash, only pony to ever achieve a sonic rainboom. And she did it TWICE. It's no secret that Rainbow is looked up to by almost everypony, and pretty much every pegasus in Equestria, including me, of course. I'm only a few years younger than she is, so I got to Ponyville a couple years later as well.

I was a huge fan of Rainbow Dash. Why wouldn't I be? I saw her perform the first sonic rainboom firsthoof in Cloudsdale. Since that day, I've wanted to be like her, but since I'm not the fastest flier in Equestria (there's actually nothing special about my flying at all, really), I learned that I would have to impress her.

That wasn't the simplest of goals.

I was in Ponyville when The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well came along. After seeing that the new hero could fly AND do magic, I knew she had to be multiple ponies (since there are few alicorns in Equestria, and all of them spend their time with royal duties). Even got an autographed photo of Rainbow. This was a while after I got my cutie mark, but shortly before I left to train as a daredevil pony.

Speaking of my cutie mark, it's a silver crescent moon (the open end is facing me), with a solar flare along the arc, also colored silver. It goes well with my sheer black coat and white and silver streaked mane. That's my picture up there; I'm also wearing my goggles in that picture.

So, the story of how I got my cutie mark.

When I was younger, I used to take joyflights. Sometimes for hours at a time. It wasn't unusual for me to fly for hours, sleep on a cloud for the night, and continue flying the next morning. Sometimes I imagined I was flying alongside Rainbow Dash. I even had conversations with my imaginary flying buddy.

It was actually one of these "conversations" that contributed to my cutie mark. I confessed to "her" that I didn't think I'd ever compare to her, and she responded by saying, "Why do you need to compare yourself to me? Flying fast isn't the only thing pegasi are capable of." I wondered what she meant and realized that there were times during my flights that I've had close calls. A LOT of close calls. My ears have had their share from my parents due to my recklessness.

Maybe I just had a really good sense of timing.

I wanted to test that theory, so I flew high above the clouds and once I reached what I felt was a good height, I closed my eyes and stopped flapping my wings. In the moment of suspension, I took a deep breath of the crisp air and began to free fall. I tucked my wings as tight as I could as I plummeted toward the ground.

About halfway down, I opened my eyes again. Not the best idea, really. The wind from my speed made my eyes water, but I had to know when to open my wings back up.

I'd done similar tricks before, but never from that height, and never at that speed. I'd have to open my wings earlier to compensate for each.

I was maybe a hundred feet above the ground when I opened my wings. It strained the joints and muscles, but I held out, adjusting their position as I neared the ground.

I swooped along the ground, about seven feet up I think it was, pulled myself up, whooping in joy as I did a loop. My smile never left my muzzle as I dropped my speed and landed on the edge of a forest. I looked to my flank and somehow my wide grin got even bigger when I saw my cutie mark had appeared.

From here on out, I figure a summary will do, since I'll explain in detail each story on its own.

After the Mare-Do-Well incident, I left to train with the Wonderbolts, where I was kicked out for being too reckless, then to Baltimare to improve my stunt flying. After that, I began touring Equestria, putting on shows for all the mares and stallions, colts and fillies. I even started taking some requests after a while.

More recently, Princesses Celestia and Luna invited me to perform a show in Canterlot. Princess Celestia mentioned she would invite Twilight Sparkle and her friends.

I wonder if she knew I almost idolized one of them?

Author's Note

Changed Hoofington to Baltimare

1: The Wonderbolt Academy

As I said, I left Ponyville to join the Wonderbolts soon after the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well incident. With Rainbow Dash's reputation and ego bruised, she wasn't her usual self the next couple weeks after. Though her friends tried to lift her spirits, it didn't change the fact that she may have felt betrayed by her friends and their actions.

Now, I wanted to see her, say something to make her feel better, but she's still my idol and I got nervous. Like, really nervous. Now, I don't remember for sure, but I think I may have left an anonymous note for her. Or maybe it was another time, I don't know.

Anyway, off I went to the Wonderbolt Academy. It was a bittersweet time there; after all, I did get kicked out.

So there I went, back up to Cloudsdale to meet the Wonderbolts, Equestria's elite paramilitary force that sometimes performs stunt shows to entertain audiences at events such as the Equestria Games. They also organize the collection of water for Cloudsdale to make weather patterns.

Anyway, I got to the Academy with no issue, despite traveling above the Everfree Forest, where the weather tends to do what it wants. I've never actually been close enough (just over, as i mentioned just now), but Fluffy Clouds has some pretty wacky stories that'll ruffle your feathers.

Man, it was great to see the Academy. It was pretty much the only place in Cloudsdale that I've never been. Until now, that is. Two Wonderbolt security ponies lined us up along the runway and left to get Spitfire, and we chatted with each other while we waited for them to come back. I was standing next to a light green mare named Flyleaf. She loves reading, and had read as much as she could on the Wonderbolts before coming to the Academy.

It was only a minute before Spitfire's gruff voice interrupted our conversations and we snapped to attention. "Well, lookie what we got here," she said. "Betcha you all think your Wonderbolt material, don'tcha?"

To which we enthusiastically responded like good little cadets, "Yes, Ma'am!"

"Think ya got what it takes to be an elite flier?" She was very articulate when she said the word "elite."

"Yes, Ma'am!"

She smiled. Spitfire actually smiled at us? That was odd. "Well then, let me be the first to tell you, YOU DON'T!" She shouted, looking directly at a bright blue stallion. "If you had what it took to be an elite flier, you'd already be a Wonderbolt." Ah, that's why she was smiling; to give us a false sense of hope. That's when I knew this was gonna be harder than I thought. Maybe the other cadets were thinking that as well.

She stopped in front of a purple mare. I could see beads of sweat forming on her brow. "Still think you're hot stuff?" Spitfire asked before continuing down the line of cadets, cutting us down the whole way. I couldn't have been the only pony who was getting riled up. Finally, at the the end of the line, Spitfire asked us if we wanted a chance to prove ourselves.

"Yes, ma'am!" we all shouted. Nope, not the only pony getting riled up after all.

"Well then, now's your chance," she replied with a smile. "Gimme 200 laps! NOW!!" It's a good thing no pony was arrogant enough to sass back at her, otherwise we might have had to do 500 laps or something.

While doing the laps, I met up with the purple mare from earlier. Her mane was brown, and her Cutie Mark was a white orchid with a ... halo? She said her name was Angel Cattleya, but her parents, who held high positions inside Cloudsdale's weather center, always called her "Little Angel." I learned she was always expected to do well in everything, which is why she was nervous in front of Spitfire, she said.

Once we all finished the laps, we headed on over to the mess hall to get something to eat and change into the provided Wonderbolt outfits.

Next up was the Dizzytron: a wheel that spun you at two different speeds simultaneously. It achieved this by having a second wheel along the rim that held the pegasus and spun faster than the large wheel when activated.

Spitfire stood in front of the machine as she introduced it to us. "The Wonderbolts are the fastest, best precision fliers in the world, but spin-outs can still happen. And when they do, a Wonderbolt must be able to recover quickly." She turned to the machine and pointed her hoof at it. "This is the Dizzytron. It's gonna make you very - I repeat! VERY dizzy," she spoke, turning back to us, approaching us. "Your task is to try to recover and fly straight again as soon as possible. Once you have recovered, you must come in for a smooth landing." She stopped in front of me. "Now, who's first?"

I was the last pony to go.

Finally it was my turn. I flew up to the harness and took a deep breath in and out. "Ready!" I exclaimed.

"Go!" Spitfire directed toward the mustachioed Whiplash, who pulled the lever. The Dizzytron spun faster and faster, so fast that it somehow made my eyes water underneath the goggles we'd been given. Suddenly, it jolted to a stop, sending me spinning into the air. I countered the rotation and started free falling back toward the runway. I used that speed to bring me close to the ground, just like when I got my Cutie Mark.

"8.5 seconds!" Spitfire announced my time. "Not bad, cadet. You almost beat my own time." My elation must've gotten the best of me, because she quickly added with a proud smirk, "Almost."

She then turned to address everypony. "Listen up! For the rest of the camp you'll be working in pairs. Tomorrow morning I'll post the teams, including who'll be lead pony, and who'll be wing pony. Good luck." And with that, she and Whiplash turned and left.

Little Angel and I faced each other. "Good luck," she told me. "You too," I replied as we hoof-bumped.

The list was posted in the mess hall for breakfast the next morning, just as Spitfire said it would be. We all gathered around it to find out which pony we'd be partnered up with.

Little Angel was at the front of the line. She approached me, smiling. I figured that could only mean one thing. We'd been paired together! And she had been appointed as my wing pony.

The first team exercise was a Flag Hunt. We were separated into two teams, red and blue. Little Angel and I were on the Red Team. The goal was to get as many of the opposing team's flags as possible. Lead ponies and wing ponies must fly together at all times; if any pair gets separated, they get disqualified.

"Do you understand?" We agreed in unison once more. "Then let's go!" And with that, she blew her whistle, and off we went!

I remember flying over a ravine and thinking, "That'd be a good place to hide a flag."

Next up was an air obstacle course. We had to fly through all sorts of weather conditions (simulated, of course) with speed and precision.

After that, a test to see how many clouds each pair could clear. This one was a competition, unlike the obstacle course, which was just to test our skills.

At the end of the week the end of all the trials, Spitfire asked to see me in her office.

"You wanted to see me, ma'am?"

"Yes, Eclipse. It has come to my attention that while you're a great flier, you're pretty lacking on the teamwork side of things."

"Ma'am?"

"The Wonderbolts are a team, cadet," she told me, taking off her shades. "We work together in everything we do. Teamwork is one of our most valued traits, and it's what we look for in our recruits. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"At first I thought your friendship with Angel on the first day indicated that you'd work well with a team. You certainly have the skill and ambition to do so, but we've noticed things that you do, little things, really, that indicate you don't really work well with other ponies. In the Flag Hunt, you constantly veered away from your partner without telling her what you were doing. During the obstacle course, you seemed to be focused on something other than the course, and nearly knocked the other teams off course more than once. And while your team cleared the most clouds, personally, you cleared almost twice as many as your partner."

My spirit drained as I realized she was right, and the only pony who would have known everything was my partner, Little Angel.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" she asked me.

"I ... didn't even realize I was doing those things, but you're right. I just kinda fell into a flow during the exercises." I took the gold leader pin off my chest and stared at it. "You're both right," I whispered.

Spitfire escorted me out of her office to the end of the runway. Little Angel there to meet me. She walked up to me.

"I'm sorry, Eclipse, I didn't know what else to do."

"It's okay, Little Angel; you did the right thing."

Spitfire took a few steps forward and addressed all the cadets. "The truth is, not everypony is cut out to be a Wonderbolt. You may not have the flight skills needed, or you may not be very good at working within a team. But there's another truth I don't usually tell cadets; I had a tough time deciding which of you to make lead pony. You've all shown great potential to be Wonderbolts, including you, Angel."

Spitfire pulled out my former gold pin and gave it to me. I looked at it one last time before walking up to Little Angel, who had just taken her own pin. I stuck the gold pin on her chest. Everyone was smiling, but none bigger than me and Little Angel.

2: Baltimare

Forgot to mention this in the previous chapter, but Spitfire told me she'd try to be available to help me improve my teamwork whenever I wanted to. Think I might take her up on it. Even if she's busy, there's still a bunch of other Wonderbolts to help me, right?

Anyway, after the Academy, I spent a few months back in Ponyville, helping ponies around town. Mostly at the train station, where I overheard three ponies talking about a retired stunt stallion in Baltimare. Stunts? That sounded more like what I did than what the Wonderbolts did. Figured I'd give that a try, and by Celestia's mane, I'm glad I did.

Well, the first thing I did was do some research on this retired stunt pony. I made up a little list, see, of anything I thought might help me. For example, I knew Mayor Mare had been to Baltimare at least once, and I thought maybe Princess Twilight Sparkle could help too. After all, ever since the Golden Oaks Library had been destroyed, Ponyville still needed a library, and Princess Twilight needed a new home.

I don't know how it happened, but there's now a crystalline castle on the edge of Ponyville, and I hear the library itself is larger than the Golden Oaks used to be.

After my shift ended at the train station the next day, I trotted on over to the Mayor's house. I looked up and saw other pegasi moving dark grey clouds over town. I got to Mayor Mare's house and knocked. A moment later, she opened the door. "Eclipse! Gotten yourself into trouble again?" she asked.

"None that I know of," I replied with a grin. I guess that's another story for this little journal, huh? "Actually," I continued, "I was wondering if you would tell me a bit about Baltimare."

"Baltimare? Of course, come in. There's some tea in the sitting room." She side-stepped to let me through, then stayed for a moment as she waved to a couple ponies that trotted past. Meanwhile, I found the sitting room. Wasn't difficult, really; it was the first room ya get to after entering.Mayor Mare entered the sitting room a moment later and poured herself a cup of tea. Seating herself across the table from me, she spoke again. "What would you like to know about Baltimare?"

I explained that I'd overheard some ponies at the train station talking about a retired stunt pony there, and I wanted to learn about the city, popular landmarks, anything that might help once I got there. She told me a lot about the city, and even gave me a map! Well, it was a map of the entire coast, including Manehattan and Phillydelphia, but Baltimare was there as well.

The rain was hitting the windows as we spoke. I remembered I wanted to speak to Princess Twilight before night fell. "Thanks for all your information, Mayor. I think it'll really help."

"I'm glad I could assist you, Eclipse," she replied.

We approached the door, cracking it open so the rain didn't come inside. As I was about to leave, I thought of something I had meant to ask her from years ago. I stood there, in the open doorway, and asked her, "Mayor, why did you agree to Mare-Do-Well?"

Her reaction was one I'd rather not have seen, but I knew it was coming.

<>--<>--<>--<>--<>

I galloped over to Princess Twilight's castle, which took longer than flying, but being a pegasus, I knew flying in the rain was one of the dumbest risks I could take. I was soaked by the rain, my mane falling to either side of my neck, rather than radiating out from my neck like it usually does. My goggles sat upon my forehead; I only wear them while performing.

I shook the water out of my mane as I approached the door and knocked. My hoof had barely touched it a second time when a bright pink pony threw open the door. Pinkie Pie! Despite being completely soaked, a smile cracked my lips. Such is the power of the Super Duper Party Pony, after all.

"Hi, Eclipse," she said as she hopped up and down. "Good to see you again. Whatcha doin' here?"

"Hello, Pinkie. I'm here to see Princess Twilight," I said, walking inside. "And it's nice to see you, too."

And she turned around and screamed, "TWIIIILIIIIIIIIGHT!!!" as she hopped down the hall, to what I assumed was the main hall. She disappeared around a corner, but I followed the path until I saw the purple princess appear.

"Hello there," she said. "How can I help you?"

"Princess Twilight," I began, "Recently I've heard about a retired stunt pony, currently residing in Baltimare. I was wondering if one of your books might mention somepony like that."

She turned, gesturing for me to follow. "I've read every one of my books, but I don't recall anypony matching that description." I nodded my acknowledgement, but she continued. "But that doesn't mean they're not in there. Not exactly my area of interest, you see."

We turned into the main hall, which is indeed where Pinkie had gone, and I heard a crunching sound, which could only mean that Spike was around. I knew he was just a baby dragon, but I'm afraid of dragons, and cautious around even the smallest ones. Princess Twilight cantered up to where he sat, reading a comic book.

I didn't care to see which one.

"Spike,"

"Just a second, Twilight." He must've been on the last page, 'cause it took him no more than 8 seconds to finish. "Done," he said, closing the cover and jumping to the floor. "I can't wait for the next issue."

"Spike, this is Eclipse," she said, motioning toward me.

"Hi!"

"He's wondering if we have any information on a retired stunt pony in Baltimare."

"A retired stunt pony, huh? Let's see..." He paced around the room for a minute, looking at book titles. Oh yeah!" Suddenly, his tail perked up and he ran across the room and grabbed a book, rather large for him, and brought it to the table. "This is a collection of stories about ponies from all across Equestria. I think you're talking about Fast Lane."

"Fast Lane?" I asked.

The little dragon turned a bunch of pages until he found what he was looking for. "Says here he was a great performer, and pioneered many tricks that are still well-known." He created his own tricks? Interesting. "Oh," he said, his smile failing him.

"Oh?" Princess Twilight echoed.

"'His career ended abruptly when he was practicing a new stunt for a show, and he crashed into the ground,'" he read. He looked up from the book and directly at us. "Hard."

<>--<>--<>--<>--<>

"Turquoise coat, copper mane. Turquoise coat, copper mane," I kept repeating to myself on the train ride over. Again, I know I'm a pegasus, but I have very logical reasons to when I choose not to fly. One, as I mentioned earlier, is when it's raining. Another is when I have to go long distances while trying to remember something. And I'd consider this a pretty important thing to remember.

The train was now passing through the base of Canterlot Mountain. There was no light that shone here, except for that which illuminated the tunnel entrances, which is why the Princesses appointed a group of unicorns from Canterlot to put up lanterns and keep them lit. From my time working at the train station, I remembered that there was a track extending along the Unicorn Range, obviously one that goes through Ponyville, one track that heads over to Manehattan, and the one I'm on splits off and goes to Fillydelphia and Baltimare.

By the time we had reached the split, Princess Luna had raised the moon, and began to make her art with the stars. I hadn't been able to get a window seat, so I couldn't get a good view of the spectacle. Soon, we had reached Baltimare, and the announcement awoke and sleeping ponies. I rented a room at a hotel and slept until morning.

I had another dream that I was flying with Rainbow Dash. We were flying around, comparing maneuvers and just having fun. We were joined by Commander Spitfire and Wind Rider, the (dishonorably discharged) retired Wonderbolt. I couldn't believe I was flying with the best pegasi in Equestria!

Soon, though, I started flying more erratically, outside the formations we were in. It didn't take long for me to notice this, and it didn't take long for me to notice that the others seemed to be disappointed, whispering to each other. I remembered what Spitfire had told me at the Academy.

The next morning, after a good breakfast and questioning some of the local ponies, I finally got a lead! Apparently, Fast Lane frequented a cider bar just a few blocks away. A quick scan showed a turquoise coat and copper mane a back corner, alone with a mug.

"Are you Fast Lane?" I asked as I approached him.

"I haven't gone by that name in a long time," he said, putting down his mug. He wasn't as old as I imagined; his skin was dry and tight, just starting to show wrinkles. "Whaddya want?"

"Recently, I was kicked out of the Wonderbolt Academy. I learned that my style of flying is more like what you used to do."

Fast Lane let out a laugh. "Kid," he said "there ain't anypony in Equestria that flies like me."

My ears perked up and I leaned forward. "That's actually why I was looking for you. I want you to teach me."

He put his mug of cider down and rubbed his right shoulder. I remember thinking that must have been from the crash. Then he finished his drink, got up and walked toward the door. I didn't notice until now, but he held his right wing half-extended, ad some of the feathers seemed permanently out of place. How serious were his injuries?!

He stopped at the door and turned to look at me. "You comin' or what?" I hopped down from the chair and followed him into the street.

He walked through the streets, and I flew slightly above. Man, it felt so good to stretch my wings again after the trip over here. We were heading east, toward the Celestial Sea, and Horseshoe Bay. I could already smell the salt in the air and feel the moist air through the feathers as I flapped my wings.

Fast Lane's cottage was similar to, but a bit larger than Fluttershy's cottage on the edge of the Everfree Forest. Around back, he had planted a small vegetable garden, and he had an awesome view of the Celestial Sea. I stood at the shore with my wings extended (probably longer than I should have), letting the swift salty breeze blow through them.

"Oi!" Fast Lane's shout snapped me out of my trance, and I hurried back over to where he waited at the door. As he led me inside, he told me we would start training the next morning, and I spent the rest of the afternoon admiring the medals and trophies he had won from his glory days.

<>--<>--<>--<>--<>

He had woken me up just as Celestia raised the sun. He led me outside and explained (shortly) what he wanted to see from me. "Show me whatcha got," he said.

"First up, takeoffs." He wanted to see vertical, running, explosive, and a few non-conventional takeoffs. We were in the back yard. I stood in the middle of the yard, ready to go. "Vertical!" I spread my wings, bent my knees, and flapped down as hard as I could. I reached about eight or nine feet high before I flapped again. "Stop!" I dropped to the ground and Fast Lane approached. ""That was good form, but you didn't get high enough." He pointed a hoof at his house. "You'll need to strengthen your secondary deltoids. I want you to get as high as my roof." He turned to me. "Same height requirement for the running and explosive takeoffs."

"For the running start, I want to know how fast you can get in a short distance. Takeoff will occur at the shoreline." He stood up to his knees in the water. "Start at the house and get closer each time. Keep getting closer until you cannot get fast enough to clear me." I readied myself at the house, about thirty feet away. "Go!" I ran as fast as I could, keeping my wings against my body. As I got closer, I opened my wings and flapped myself above Fast Lane with ease. We continued this exercise, decreasing the distance by a few feet each time. I was able to get about 12 feet away before my toe scraped against his mane. "You'll need to do weighted running to get your hind legs stronger. That will also help with lateral takeoffs later on."

We practiced the rest of the day, with breaks for meals. I practiced late into the afternoon, and when Princess Luna raised the moon, I went back inside. Fast Lane had gone in a few hours earlier. I saw him laying down on the sofa, with a bottle of cider on the table next to him. He was snoring.

I went upstairs to bed.

This was the routine for the next two months; wake up, do flight exercises, breaks for meals, go to bed. I confronted him a few times about his drinking, but he always brushed it off. I ended up hiding any cider I found while he was away. That's when he started getting hostile toward me. I doubt he knew for sure that I was keeping it from him, but I was the only other pony around.

One day he went into town for some errands. He returned when I was having lunch and began shouting at me. He hadn't had any cider the last few days, I'd made sure of that. In the fight that followed, I learned that something somepony in town said implied he was an alcoholic, and that's what spurred this rage. We fought until I was able to get outside and fly. He kept shouting as he threw things at me; rocks, sticks, his vegetables. As I kept dodging his attacks, he realized he wasn't going to hit me.

He tried flying after me. I knew he was out of his mind now, since he hadn't flown since the accident, and he never told me what happened, or when it happened, so I didn't even know how long it's been. His aching shoulder kept him grounded at first, but he was able to get off the ground a few feet a couple of times before landing hard on his hooves. The last time, he was able to get high enough to grasp the roof, but he slipped and crashed into the ground.

I winced when I heard the crunch.

He was writhing and groaning in pain, and his other wing looked almost as deformed as his right wing. "Fast Lane, get on my back. I'm taking you to the city," I said as I floated down to him. He was in so much pain, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. I flew into the city instead of running, because every step would only exacerbate the pain he was in.

Now, in the last two months, I've spent most of my time training; I hadn't yet had time to explore Baltimare! Fast Lane had to tell me where the hospital was.

What happened after that must not have been as important as the rest of the story, because I don't really remember anything between getting him to the hospital and when he was finally awake enough to talk normally. I'd fallen asleep when he woke me.

"Eclipse, you there?" It was a little more than a whisper, but it was enough to rouse me. They had positioned him on his belly, with his wings propped up in slings.

I shook my head, forcing my eyes to open. "I'm here, Fast Lane."

"You've probably figured it out already, but I've been drinking for a long time. Since the accident." I didn't know exactly where he was going with this, but I kept quiet, seeing where it would lead. "It started as a way to keep my mind off what happened. I drank to dull the pain. As the pain started to go away, I drank to try and forget the memory of it. Eventually, I began feeling terrible, and I tried to stop drinking so much." He shook his head. "It didn't work. I still drank myself to sleep most nights. Usually, I wouldn't do anything but drink cider all day. That day you came to me in the cider bar was one of those days."

Hoo boy, he's getting emotional. He never gets emotional, Well, other than the stern, angry kind of emotion, anyway.

He turned his head toward me, as much as he could. "I was rehearsing a new routine I liked to call The Baltimare Blowout. I'd been waiting to reveal it until I performed in Baltimare again. Then I crashed, and you know the rest." I could see he was visibly getting tired again. He was silent for another minute, then told me, "Go home and practice. Tend to my garden. I'll be okay on my own until I get better."

<>--<>--<>--<>--<>

It was six days until he returned home. I was leaping over the house when I hear my name being called. I looked to the road, and I saw Fast Lane trotting towards me, noticeably cheerier than before. He was wearing saddlebags on his back, and both his wings were wrapped in bandages.

"Eclipse, do you remember what I told you about The Baltimare Blowout?" he asked after we hugged each other. Oh, thank Celestia he turned out okay.

"You didn't say much, actually," I replied.

"Good, good." He started to go inside. "Come inside when you're done trying to be Pinkie Pie."

That remark caught me off guard. He was right, of course. The prime party pony could jump just as high as I was, only I was doing it with the help of my wings. I probably stood there looking like a fool as I pondered this.

Oh yeah, go inside.

He stood at the kitchen table, with pages strewn about in front of him. I looked over his shoulder, trying to see what was on them. Other than crudely-drawn pictures, I had no idea. "What is all this?"

"This," he said, "is The Baltimare Blowout."

Author's Note

you're all gonna have to wait to find out what the Baltimare Blowout actually is, sorry